ArcelorMittal,Nippon Steel boost galvanized output

ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corp., the world's two biggest makers of the alloy, will spend $240 million to more than double output capacity of galvanized steel at their I/N Kote plant in New Carlisle, Indiana.

The companies will build a production line with annual capacity of 480,000 metric tons, adding to the current output of 450,000 tons of hot-dipgalvanized steel wire, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said in a statement distributed by Business Wire.

Construction of the new line is expected to be completed by 2010, ArcelorMittal said today in the statement.

I/N Kote, founded in 1991, is a joint venture between the two companies, said ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker. Galvanized steel, a corrosion resistant form of the metal coated with zinc, is used in cars and construction.

Novelis commence production at new state-of-the-art aluminium casthouse

This achievement means that the approximately CHF50 million project is on-track for its final stage in August when the company will start producing multi-alloy sheet ingots in the plant using its breakthrough Novelis Fusion™ solidification technology. The new casthouse will be the first Novelis site in Europe, and one of three globally, with the capability to cast aluminium sheet ingots with multiple alloy layers. These alloy ingots are rolled into sheet products with previously unattainable product features. The other two Novelis Fusion facilities are in Oswego, NY (USA) and Ulsan (South Korea).

"The new casthouse is state-of-the-art technology for our industry," said Roland Harings, general manager for Novelis in Sierre. "As planned, we have started off by testing our new equipment on traditional single-alloy sheet ingots and we are delighted that the first production has gone so well. We are looking forward to the next and final stage, which will be the start of Novelis Fusion casting in August. I would like to congratulate the whole team working on this project for the way in which they have managed this process to the planned timescale and in co-operation with our local stakeholders."

Originally planned as a 70,000 tonnes per year facility, the capacity has been increased through additional furnace investments in response to a high degree of market interest in the benefits offered by Novelis Fusion. This Novelis innovation opens up new market segments for aluminium sheet and further expands the company's proprietary offering.